Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives $600 4x4 pick-up

Well instead of getting that K5 Blazer, I bought a 1985 4x4 F-150 single cab longbed. Its got dual tanks, and a 302 under the hood. This will get alot more use than that blazer. I payed just under 600 bucks for the truck.

The truck starts as soon as you hit the key, and man is it quiet. It couldnt be heard running when a car drove by. And it runs like a dream, Also the steering is very tight. Not bad for a old beater with 178k on it huh? It did have some work on it about 20k ago but thats to be expected.

The only problem is rust. It was parked for 5 years in an oceanside town (gold beach, oregon) That didnt help it. It needs to have the hood replaced, and a couple of spots need to be cut out. As for the body I only see one small dent. Since this truck isnt ever goona be a look good classy truck, but more like a work truck I'll probly leave it like it is and drive it till it dies. You guys think that this was a good deal?

Could be a good idea. Depends on if it winds up costing you money to keep it running. 178k is a lot of miles if the engine has been abused or had poor matainence. Its not a lot of miles if its been taken care of. So who knows? I do know that even if it needs a new engine if the rest of the truck is sound it could be a really good deal. A lot of people pay $600 a month for a truck payment. If you get a couple years out of it you got a really good deal. Do you guys still 4-wheel in white city out towards antelope rd? I used to take my '79 4x4 there pretty often. Just dont spend too much time there thrashing on your rig like I did and it will last longer for sure <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Are you talking about out by agate lake? or off of hwy 140 close to white city? I dont 4wheel at either of those places theirs to much crud in the mud these days, (wire,bricks,2x4's with nails, etc.) I prefer to do hill climbs much more. I'm not a hard core 4x4, just a weekend thrill once in a while. The 4x4 is used to get to the barn in the winter time, and during hunting season.

Watch that power steering pump, they have a tendency to go out. Usually it will let you know a little while beforehand. I've owned a 74, 85,86, 88, 91, and 94 Ford, the last 4 being diesels. When the pump starts getting noisy, get it looked at quick. Loss of power steering is alot worse than manual steering.

4WD works? It runs? Starts every time? Heck, yes you got a good deal. Run it and don't spend a ton on it and you're fine. Start spending money to fix every little thing and you get on a slippery financial slope that ends with a broken truck and empty wallet. You did well, enjoy the truck. Ward

hwy 140 close to white city. For a while I lived on rolling hills dr. in EP, then moved to antelope rd out of white city. That was 7 years ago. Had a lot of fun out there in the mud. Too bad its all messed up now.

Oh ok your talking about out by the baseball fields. The White City Ponds. Agate lake is the one thats all messed up, the ponds where your talking about are to flat with to many people for me. You lived on Rolling Hills dr huh? Which side of the Hwy if your coming out of eagle point? I gotta grandpa that lives on the left side of the hwy on rolling hills. Ward the 4wd works and the 4WD Low range is an absolute granny. And your right it would be a financial pit if I decided to fix it up. But the places that I tend to take trucks can be hard on them, So if the truck is dented and scratched the damage blends in better LOL

Yeah, the white city ponds. Notta a lot of hills climbs, but a lot of mud. Left side of hwy 62 out of EP. I still have family that lives there.

That true alotta mud until it dries up and then its a god forsaken dust bowl

Well I had a chance to take the truck off the pavement. We went up an down gravle roads, up some hill climbs and down some very rocky 4x4 trails. The thing did great, I figgure to run it till It dies, And take the money that I saved when I bought that and put it towards something a lil nicer like a 97 F-250 single cab long bed?

Sounds like you've got yourself a good deal there. I'm a big advocate of the old cheap trucks. The wife drives a newer car, but I drive beaters. If you stay ahead of the curve on maintainance it will be a lot easier on you. For the first few months I replace the things that I know will go out. Belts hoses things like that. Another thing I do is to stock up on spare parts when I can. I have a 4X4 ford ranger. The hubs are a little weak on them. In a deal for some other parts I got the guy to throw in a set of hubs. Like ghope said the power steering pumps on your truck (and most fords) are very weak. I'd just keep my eyes open for a cheap one now, so when it does go you'll have one handy.





Here's my pair. No truck payments. No full coverage insurance. No worries about the bird dog getting too muddy. No worry about trail scars.

I've owned two new trucks in the past 35 years, while the SheWolf likes to buy new stuff every 4 or 5 years. Guess she likes car payments more than I do.
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Drove the same '69 C-10 Chevy from the time it was 3 years old until about six years ago and it never left me stranded. Did have to get out and curse at it/beat it a time or two, but never had to walk away from it.

Pretty much follow that same trail on a new-for-me beater: check and replace belts, hoses and anything else that looks or acts like it's on its last legs. Once replaced all the hoses, belts, voltage regulator, starter relay and a coupla other electronic components on an old Dodge work truck I also had for years.

A buddy asked why I did that when it worked fine. Told him that for about $120, it bought a lot of peace of mind since all that stuff was still original Mopar stuff and likely original. Eventually replaced the starter, alternator and power steering pump over a period of several years, then had the tranny rebuilt. Still a bargain as that truck only cost me about $350 a year avg. for liability insurance.

One thing I'd check on that old Furd is the frame and chassis rust. Wouldn't be the first "shore car" that had sand and other gunk in recesses, which typically makes them rust even quicker. One advantage of an old Furd or Chebbie, is that boneyard parts are plentiful and fairly cheap.

I couldn't stand to be without an old truck, so not long after I bought the last new one in 2002, had to go out and buy a '91 S-10 four banger. She likes me to park that one out back.
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Well I'm loving the truck so far. The only thing that I need to get used to is how sharp it turns. I'm used to the turning radius of a broncoII this is a big wake up call when im out in the brush.

My plans for it is a winch,brushguard/winch bumper, small lift, 33's, lower and some overload springs in the rear. Possibly some performance mods like a better air-filter, and possibly a chip.